I am used to gross stuff. I see it every day. But still, there are times I just do a double take and almost throw up a little in my mouth. The other day a youngish woman came with “sores on the leg”. Much to my horror, when I asked to see […]

The next day you are found aspirating on your own vomit with decorticate posturing and right gaze preference. Shortly afterwards EMS intubates you and your are on a vent in the ER. Your blood work is horrible (renal failure and white blood count over 20K). You might think you are lucky that […]

When you call up the ER secretary and proceed to scream and yell at her, threatening to “come on down there” with your lawyer, you better have a damn good reason to gripe and behave like a dick-wad. However, when you then tell the secretary in obscenity strewn language that your anger is […]

The other day I had a guy in his 40’s come in with a sore throat - pretty damn common and usually completely unexciting and non-emergent complaint. However, this was one of those cases where you take one look at the guy and listen to him answer one question, and your spidey sense tells you […]

After all, you came in at 1 am for “hot flashes”. So maybe your 21 year old ovaries are failing!
Or NOT. More likely you have the friggin’ flu. See, there is a positive flu swab. Now go home and chill out with your Tamiflu and stop worrying about your ovaries!

I honestly respect old doctors - they have years of experience and often a great rapport with their patients. However, some of them need to hang up the stethoscope. Even with completing CME requirements, some do not not ever seen to change their 20-30 year old practise patterns. Case in point. […]

I hate it when the lab loses specimens.  I really hate it. I hate that we have to stick the patient again. I hate it even more when it is a sample of infected joint fluid I aspirated out of a toddler’s knee!   My response - well, you either find that damn sample or come […]